Teachers across the country will soon be able to train for an active shooter on school grounds using a realistic computer simulation. The simulation is very graphic and includes details like gunfire, shattered glass and the screams of children. The simulation was created by the federal government and was modeled after a real school. There are 20 classrooms, a library, a cafeteria, and a gymnasium that even has blue-padded walls. The software developers studied audio dispatches from the mass killings at Virginia Tech in 2007 and Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 to depict the chaos of a school shooting. The Department of Homeland Security funded the $5.6 million program. Since the 1999 attack on Columbine High School, more than two-thirds of public schools nationwide practiced their response to a shooting in the 2013-14 academic year, according to the Department of Education. Lockdown drills are now commonplace and teachers are taught that if safely escaping is not possible, they should protect students by shutting off the lights, barricading doors and silencing cellphones. In the simulation, the teacher must tell cowering students one of seven commands, which include “Get out through a window,” “Find a place to hide!” or “Follow me!” Participants can be the students, teacher, other school employees or law enforcement in the simulation. And you can even be the shooter. The simulation is set to be released this spring and will be free for any school that passes a verification process.
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